Long ago, the ancestors of the Xianzhou, much like the other Denizens of Abundance, sought the elixir of immortality from Yaoshi, the Aeon of Abundance.
And Yaoshi, selfless as ever, granted it to them without discrimination.
But endless longevity can violently twist life. From this twisted blessing, fanatical followers emerged. They plundered other civilizations' resources just to sustain their eternally expanding populations.
Even the Xianzhou, also blessed by the Abundance, was nearly annihilated by these maddened followers.
Eventually, the Xianzhou realized a horrifying truth: the twisted mutations brought by immortality would eventually plague and consume the entire universe. And so, they turned completely against the Abundance, branding the blessing a deadly calamity.
They drove out the fanatics and fought bloody wars against the Denizens of Abundance.
During this agonizing struggle, a mortal hero from the Xianzhou ascended to godhood—Lan, the Aeon of the Hunt. Burning with an unquenchable vengeance, Lan tirelessly hunts the undead abominations blessed by Yaoshi across the vast universe. Their sole cosmic mission: exterminate every last one and ultimately slay Yaoshi, the root cause who grants miraculous blessings without guidance or restraint.
Since the birth of the Hunt, the Xianzhou leadership has strictly followed its Path, fiercely rejecting their own immortality. Thus began their endless, grueling war against the Abominations of Abundance.
As March marveled at the Xianzhou's fiercely divergent path, Jingliu quietly opened her eyes on the sofa.
She had actually woken up a bit earlier and, hearing them discuss the Xianzhou's history, feigned sleep to eavesdrop. Yuki knew she was awake the whole time but didn't bother to call her out.
"The Xianzhou's past leaders were absolute fools. Their boundless stupidity created this mess."
"If we hadn't finally chosen another Path, we'd be no different from those Abominations of Abundance—mindless invaders of the universe." Jingliu sat up, her tone frigid, responding directly to March.
"You... you're awake!"
"Since when?!" March jumped, thoroughly startled.
"Just now," Jingliu replied flatly.
Her crimson gaze swept the room, barely glancing at Himeko and March before settling entirely on the sole male present. The familiar, terrifying aura confirmed it—this was the unfathomable man from the rooftop.
But upon actually seeing his face in the light, she froze.
Yuki's handsomeness far exceeded her expectations, he was easily the most striking man she had ever laid eyes on. That heavenly face stirred something even within her, an ancient swordswoman entirely unversed in the ways of romance. Her historically frozen heart fluttered.
Unconsciously, her ruby eyes locked onto his face, unblinking.
March noticed immediately. A strange, highly acidic sourness welled up in her chest. She pouted fiercely.
"If you're not on the Xianzhou, what are you doing all the way out here?"
"Fighting these Abundance cultists all by yourself?" March's loud voice snapped Jingliu back to reality.
Jingliu blinked rapidly. Yuki smiled warmly at her. Her heart skipped a violent beat, and she quickly looked away, her legendary composure cracking.
"I'm a criminal now. An exile. I can't stay on the Xianzhou," she explained softly, trying desperately to distract herself from the man sitting across from her.
"Why?" March found it incredibly odd.
From Yuki's telepathic messages earlier, she had learned Jingliu was the legendary Sword Champion—a towering, high-ranking figure. How could a hero like that become a criminal in exile?
"The past... let's not speak of it." Jingliu sighed, her eyes darkening, utterly unwilling to elaborate.
Though Jingliu refused to explain, March quickly connected the dots from what Yuki had mentioned earlier on the rooftop.
"Is it related to that other horrific side effect of immortality you mentioned—mara?" March turned to Yuki.
At the mere utterance of the word "mara," Jingliu's entire body trembled involuntarily.
Himeko caught the visceral reaction and smiled softly. "Looks like our little March guessed right."
"But what exactly is mara? I couldn't find any detailed records of it in the archives. Miss Jingliu, would you care to enlighten us?"
Jingliu remained stubbornly silent, her hands gripping her knees.
Seeing this, the two women turned back to Yuki.
"Mara is... the so-called 'end' of immortality," Yuki explained simply. "That's exactly why the Xianzhou now call their longevity a curse. Simply put, those who fall to mara lose their sanity entirely. They mutate and become mindless monsters."
"It is the absolute state of spiritual decay. For example..."
"Ugh... immortality sounds completely terrifying?!" March's scalp crawled at the grim explanation.
She suddenly thought: As the daughter of Fuli, the Aeon of Remembrance, wasn't she technically immortal too? Would she be at risk of getting mara-struck? The intrusive thought made her instantly nervous.
Yuki saw her panicked expression and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Don't worry, March. Even if you live forever, you won't fall to mara." Yuki glanced at her meaningfully.
Jingliu and Himeko were both genuinely curious why the pink-haired girl would be totally exempt from the universal curse of the Abundance.
"Why?" March grinned proudly, puffing out her chest. "Because this beautiful girl is one of a kind?"
"No. Because idiots can't get dumb," Yuki shook his head, completely deadpan.
March blinked. Then her face flushed a furious, vibrant red.
"Jerk Yuki!"
"Calling me idiot again!" She lunged forward, pounding his chest with her little fists, loudly venting her embarrassment.
Himeko just shook her head with a helpless, fond smile. This kind of banter was a daily occurrence on the Express now.
Jingliu watched their warm, easy interactions. Unbidden, deeply buried memories of her own past—of friends laughing together beneath the high clouds—surged violently to the surface.
Panicked that the emotions would trigger another episode, she abruptly rose to leave.
"Miss Jingliu, where are you going?" Himeko asked, alarmed by the sudden movement.
Yuki and March stopped their playful fighting to look at the tense swordswoman.
Jingliu shook her head, letting out a ragged sigh. "I don't know."
"You're afraid of a mara outbreak. You're afraid you'll lose your mind and hurt us," Yuki saw right through her facade.
She looked down at the floorboards, not denying it. "It seems so."
Himeko nodded gently, perfectly reading the tragic exhaustion in the woman's expression.
"Don't worry about the mara," Yuki said, his tone entirely casual. "When I knocked you out on the roof, I completely suppressed it."
"So even if you dwell on your darkest past right now, it won't trigger an outbreak—at least for now."
"It is only temporary, though. To truly be rid of the curse forever, you'd need complete eradication."
Yuki's tone was calm and matter-of-fact. But to Jingliu, his impossible words hit her mind like a catastrophic thunderbolt.